Sempervivum; my favorite plant(s) in the garden this week!

I’m kind of cheating at my own game, picking a whole group of plants rather than a particular plant…but they just look so good mashed together here. Usually when I plant sempervivum I spread them around, giving them room to expand. Here I was trying to fill in a corner where pesky squirrels continually dug.

Are you wondering why there’s a muddy channel surrounding them in the image above? Because I’ve removed some of the brick edging to help picture the expanded planting area taking over parts of the lawn. This grouping was right at the “old” corner.

It’s so wonderful as-is that I’m going to try and move it out to the new corner en-masse.

I stopped tracking the name of my different sempervivum long ago, so I can’t tell you specifically what these are.

I have a (bad?) habit of picking up 1 or 2 Semps weekly when I grocery shop (only in the spring and summer). Our local “has everything” grocery chain (Fred Meyer) has a decent nursery for basics like this, and their prices are good, usually on sale 2 for $5. It’s an easy way to amass quite a collection!

The stats…

• Common name: Houseleek or Hens and Chicks.
• Most are quite frost resistant; some hardy to as low as zone 4 but they will melt in desert temperatures (a succulent for us in cooler regions!).
• They dislike damp (although this hasn’t been a problem for me) and prefer full to partial sun.
• They are monocarpic and will die after blooming. Usually the blooming rosette has been surrounded by smaller plants though, so death won’t mean much of an empty space in the garden.
• Happy in containers or rock gardens, and great as a ground cover.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.